Salvage Bra Parts

I've been thinking about bras a lot recently. I haven't bought a new bra in a few years which means that my old bras have worn out. As in "OMG these are falling apart and underwires are poking out and into me and is it really possible that my cup size has gone up well I guess I have put on weight in the last few years and these straps are so stretched out the won't stay on my shoulder ugh!" So, I bought a couple of new bras and threw all of my old ones out.

And then I immediately reached into the garbage and pulled them all out. Thinking of recent posts by Aicha, Carolyn, Madalynne, and Steph about sewing bras, I figured that I would salvage the findings. This meant removing the underwire, the hook and eye sets, and the little metal things that go on the straps (I'm sure they have an actual name, but, having not actually sewn a bra, I don't know it).

A couple of notes about salvaging parts. You don't want to use the hook and eye sets on the fabric that they are already sewn into. Notice how this bit of the bra is stretched out and no longer a rectangle. To use the hook and eye sets, you'll need to cut them out of this part of the bra and re-sew them into a new strap. However, it's convenient for storage to leave them in the fabric. Also, you'll want to check the ends of your underwires. You'll notice that the cap on the end of this underwire has worn off so it will need a new cap before insertion in to a new bra.